It’s been widely rumored that the country singer, who’s currently dating Conor Kennedy, plunked down $4.9 million — a tiny fraction of her sizable fortune — to buy the 4,440-square-foot gray shingle spread across the street from Ethel Kennedy
’s place in Hyannis Port.

But it’s tough to confirm. The deed on the property is held by Coleman Limited Partnership of Greenwich, Conn., and calls to the previous owner, Nancy Coleman, were not returned. Meanwhile, an employee at the Barnstable County Registry of Deeds — who told us he’s talked to “tons” of reporters trying to confirm the sale — said if Swift did indeed purchase the place, her name would not necessarily appear on public records.

While Swift herself is welcome in town, some residents we spoke to aren’t so wild about the press and paparazzi that have followed her. An ominous “Do Not Enter” sign hangs on a white fence at the edge of the gravel drive leading to the shingled home on Marchant Avenue. As we wandered up to the place Tuesday, a security guard in a light blue polo shirt and a Martha’s Vineyard ballcap was sitting in a lawn chair. Having met many reporters making the same pilgrimage this summer, he was not surprised to see us.

A few blocks away, a woman exiting the Hyannis Port Post Office said the postman had told her, with some degree of certainty, that Swift had indeed bought the house. But when we tried to talk to the same postman, he was having none of it.

“No, no, no,” he shouted at us repeatedly. Nor could we get anyone to answer our questions at Our Lady of Victory Parish, the church where the 22-year-old singer and her 18-year-old sweetheart recently attended Mass. (There was no chance of seeing the pair in Hyannis Port Tuesday because they were reportedly in Nashville.)

But some locals seem to be enjoying the attention. Elizabeth Rubino, 21, works at the Hyannis Port News Shop, said she’s spotted the cute couple outside the store’s front window, strolling hand in hand down the street.

Rubino told us she hasn’t seen Swift buy any snacks, but “Curb Your Enthusiasm” actress Cheryl Hines
has been in.

“A lot,” Rubino says. “She was charging to Bobby Kennedy’s account.”

(That’s because Hines and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
have been dating for a while.)

But Swift and her beau did drop into Four Seas Ice Cream for some sweet treats. Christian Cedeno said he wasn’t expecting the singer to wander in the door while he was working the counter, and the 16-year-old was “a little jealous” that his co-worker got to serve her a cup of cookie-dough ice cream.

“People have been coming to see if she’ll be here,” says Cedeno.

Conor, Swift, and two girls also caused a minor stir while having lunch recently at Common Ground Café & Juice Bar — where Maria Shriver
frequently stops in the morning to get a smoothie. Manager Nezer Aldokhi said the foursome sat together in the cafe that’s decorated like a forest, and he treated them like ordinary folks.

“Celebrities don’t get a table before anyone else,” he said.

Aldokhi didn’t ask for an autograph but joked that he could have sold Swift’s receipt on eBay.

Maybe next time. If the superstar singer really bought that house down the road, she’ll be back.